


The Doors Are Now Open Wide—The It Doesn’t Matter Anymore Job

by crayonbreakygal



Series: Lock the Damn Door [8]
Category: Falling Skies, Leverage
Genre: Drama, Multi, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 21:31:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8118256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Nate just had to smile.  They’d done it, gotten through one of the worst times in history and had survived. Now they just had to find Sophie and Parker. Takes place after season four, parallel with the Falling Skies universe.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I think this series is done. I keep adding little things here and there, but maybe it's done? So here it is. Enjoy!

The Doors Are Now Open Wide—The It Doesn’t Matter Any More Job

Takes place after season four, parallel with the Falling Skies universe

Nate’s leg hurt like shit.  It burned off and on for days, but now, that the muscles were starting to knit back together, the bone healing, it had started hurting worse.  Eliot somehow found some medicine to take the edge off, but there it was.  At least it was over, hopefully forever. Hardison had found showers for them, food and more clothes.  Thank goodness for Hardison.  Saying he was the best was an understatement.  He’d helped rid the earth of those damn creatures. In Nate’s eyes, he was a hero.

“Nate, you won’t believe what I found?”

“A warm place to stay?  Oh wait, already done that.  Now all we gotta do is…”

Eliot stopped when he saw the seriousness on Hardison’s face.  Eliot literally picked the hacker up and spun him around.

“No fuckin’ way.”

“Yes fuckin’ way,” he grinned back at Eliot.

Nate just had to smile.  They’d done it, gotten through one of the worst times in history and had survived. It was a near thing, with Eliot almost dying and Hardison getting captured, and Nate almost dying too. 

They’d been separated in the fighting in North Carolina.  How they’d ended up in North Carolina was crazy and not up for debate, but Parker had run, taken Sophie’s hand when there had been an attack and had disappeared.  They’d occasionally learn about these two women, blowing things up, coming up with plans that were worthy of Nate’s plan M’s.  They all knew it had to be the two of them.  People had started calling them Thelma and Louise.

Nate, Eliot and Hardison had their own troubles, with being pinned down at one point by the enemy, thinking outside the box, helping blow up enemy ships.  They didn’t play by the rules for the most part, had gotten in trouble for not playing by the rules by the ruling government, and had talked their way out of getting their asses kicked by said government.  It helped that the government consisted of fellow Massachusetts people, who somehow understood what it was like to survive.  Nate’s one and only talk with the President, Tom Mason, had gone swimmingly well, so he knew they had the boss on their side.  But when Pope and Eliot tried to kill each other, Nate knew it was time to move on.

The three of them slipped out one night, past patrols, past Espheni.  No one could track them once Eliot was on the job.  They set up schemes to get back at the Espheni, had taken down too many of them to count and had basically become their own unit, the three of them. Once they’d help lead the 2nd Mass to Charleston, they knew they’d never be able to stay in one place.  Then Sophie and Parker had disappeared.  Fighting had become part of their existence.  Nate was tired, damn tired and wanted to go home. He knew, in the back of his mind, that their home was gone in Boston.  It was in utter ruin.  But the cabin, well the cabin was another story.  It hopefully had survived.  He didn’t know if the others would agree. Now all they had to do was find Sophie and Parker, if the rumors were true. God, he hoped that the rumors were true.

More than one person in the power structure had tried to convince him to be a part of rebuilding.  Nate had said no every single time.  He wasn’t a politician.  Hell, he didn’t even think he was a hero, but they were telling him he was.  From what he had heard from Tom Mason and his people, they’d done damage though, significant damage, enough for Mason to move in and destroy the Espheni once and for all. The damn things were gone, they all hoped.  For good.

“Ok, ok.  They’re possibly in Alexandria.  I dunno.”

“Either they’re there or not,” Eliot chided him.

“Two women, armed to the teeth, took out how many Espheni?  Well, maybe not.  But the descriptions match, almost.  One long haired woman, dark eyes, yelled like a banshee as they attacked along with a much smaller woman, short light hair, blowing the shit up out of all of them.”

“Could be?”

Nate thought that could be them, but they were fighting?  He could believe Parker blowing shit up, but Sophie, screaming like a banshee?

“Let’s go check it out. Where are they located?”

“Just outside of Alexandria with the 4th Virginia brigade.”

“Nate, the leg?”

“I’ll live.”

It took them much longer to procure a ride than they thought it would.  People kept saluting Nate like he was a damn general or something.  Nate just stared at them strangely, but they’d take the compliment.  They even had people shaking their hands every once in a while.  Someone had made Nate a general, but he just shrugged it off when it was done a while back.  Nonsense, he had explained to Eliot.  Eliot had explained to him that he had to take the job. Now he was just Nathan Ford, hoping to find his other two teammates. He hoped this wasn’t a false alarm like last time.  Two women had made their way close to the capital, claiming to be Thelma and Louise only to be two wannabes who didn’t know how to handle a rifle, much less explosives.

 

Wandering around the camp, Eliot had parked Nate in the tent of the person in charge and had gone on reconnaissance.  Better to check things out instead of just finding these women. 

Up ahead, standing by a fire, stood a woman with really long, dark hair. Eliot’s heart stopped. He knew that stance, it was a very distinctive stance, even with the hair and the military dress.

“Thought you’d never find us,” a voice said beside him.

Dammit, Parker.  She’d done it again. Even before knowing where she was, she’d appear out of thin air.  It didn’t take him long to turn and smile.  She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his torso and hugging him until he couldn’t breathe.  They’d found them. They were alive. 

Sophie must have heard Parker yell Eliot because in a few seconds time she’d done the same thing.  Luckily he’d been ready for it now.  God she was thin, he thought in the back of his mind.  Parker had always been wispy, no weight to lift, but Sophie was taller, more regal, a woman’s body, all round and soft. Now she was all sharp edges, but still as beautiful as ever.  Her legs wrapped just as tight around him, fist in his hair, that had been cut short, but still where she could tug on it as she did.

“You’re alive,” she breathed out, tears now forming in her eyes.

He kissed her, then kissed Parker again, just to make sure they were both still there and with him.

“Oh my god,” came Hardison’s call when he saw the two standing with Eliot.

The hacker collided with Parker, swinging her around.  After than he gathered Sophie in his arms, hugging until she couldn’t breathe.

“Eliot, Eliot, what, where is he?” Sophie called from Hardison’s arms.

“It’s ok.  He’s here. He’s alive.  Just wait.”

Sophie then doubled over, like she was in pain.  Parker jumped up and down like she’d won a prize. Eliot was so happy to see that Parker’s enthusiasm hadn’t died in this war. 

“Let’s go find him.  Where is he?” Parker cried out.

“He’s right there,” Sophie said, as she looked off in the distance.

“Soph, Soph, his leg.  Be careful,” Hardison called out after the two as they went flying Nate’s way.

The cane had been necessary until the injury healed. So had the new haircut, most of his curls sheared off. The grey really had started showing, particularly in the new beard he had started wearing so he didn’t have to shave any more.  Not like they had the time or the gear to do this most of the time.

“Goddamn it, they just tackled him. Better not have messed up his leg again.”

Trotting over to Nate and the others, all he saw was Nate crying, Sophie crying and Parker squealing, the rest of the camp walking around like it was an everyday occurrence. Possibly it was since families were being united as much as they could be.

“Need a little help?” Eliot asked as he watched Nate on the ground.

Pulling Parker and Sophie off of Nate, he helped the former mastermind up and adjusted his cane so that he could walk again.

“Your leg?” Sophie started.

“Wounded in the last battle.  It’s healing, if the two of you don’t pull that again.”

Eliot started smelling what he thought was Parker and her lack of hygiene.  Her hair was much darker than it should be. Was that just dirt or did she color her light hair to blend in? Sophie’s hair was braided into many braids, almost like an Amazonian warrior.  It was stiff to the touch though. Sophie’s hair was always perfect, soft and touchable.  The smudges on Parker’s face were not mistakable as paint.  It definitely was dirt, lots and lots of dirt.  By the looks of their beaten up boots and leather jackets, the two of them looked like they joined a biker gang. And was that gunpowder he smelled too?  So they really had blown shit up.  Eliot spotted at least five weapons on Sophie and only a few on Parker, but Parker knew how to hide them better.  Sophie was just showing off.

“Ok, you two stink. You need a shower.”

“Water?  I hope you know where water is because when was the last time we cleaned up?”

Sophie looked at Parker strangely.  “When’s the last time you cleaned up?  Me, at least a week ago.  No telling about Parker.  Mud is her middle name.”

“Hey, mud saved us on more than one occasion.”

Nate just grimaced at the both of them.

“Ok, so baths for the women.  Hardison, how do we solve this?”

“I have no idea.”

“Oh god, does that mean they have to ride with us like this?”

“Hey, remember you and the haircutting incident?”

Eliot growled Hardison’s way.

“I can’t play with your hair now.  I’ll just have to play with Sophie’s.”

“Nice hair, Soph.”

“Parker’s handiwork.”

 

Eliot found their vehicle and loaded everyone in, with the windows open.  It didn’t take Hardison long to find a place to stop. With a General’s credentials, it was much easier. Both Sophie and Parker stared at Nate like he was crazy, but he just waved his hands in the air like he didn’t know what was going on.

“General? Oh my, we have been gone a long time.”

“Not saluting you, Nate.”  He grinned Parker’s way.  “So what are you, a general too?”

Eliot shook his head, but didn’t answer.

“The colonel doesn’t want the title. We all call him that anyway.”

“And what are you, Hardison?” Sophie asked as he led them into a motel on the outskirts of the town he’d driven to.

“Lackey.  That’s me.  Following orders.”

“Not that he wasn’t involved in bringing the damn things down once and forever.”

“My hero,” Parker said, putting a southern accent behind it.

“Oh please,” Nate laughed.

“At least you didn’t get shot in the shoulder this time,” Sophie reminded him.

“One room. All I could get. At least there’s a bathroom.”

“Hot water?” Sophie asked as he opened the door.

Two queens, drapes drawn.  It was fairly clean, beds made.  It looked like heaven, Eliot thought.  They were used to sleeping on the ground and had been for the last ten months.  Ten months of being separated from Sophie and Parker.  Ten months of hell.

“And I’ll be back.”

“Clothes. Could you rustle up some clothes?  Don’t care what.  I think this outfit may walk out on its own,” Sophie joked as Hardison stepped out.

When Sophie and Parker walked into the bathroom though, they both sighed in pleasure.  The huge tub sat in the middle, built for two.

“Honeymoon suite,” Sophie cried out.

“Oh boy,” Nate said as he watched in amusement.

Parker was already stripping out of her clothes, not caring that Nate and Eliot were there. 

“Uh, Parker? Don’t you want to wait for hot water?”

“If I don’t get this grime off, it’ll mess up the tub.”

Parker’s shirt landed on top of Eliot’s head as she quickly stripped.

“Well, she’s probably correct.”

Sophie proceeded to do the same thing.  Both Nate and Eliot did not look away as Parker turned on the water.

“Is this the part where we’re supposed to turn around and not look?” Nate asked.

“Beats me.”

“There’s even some of those little shampoo bottles,” Parker cried.

“We, um, should probably let them, you know…” Nate stumbled.

“Holy shit, that’s cold.”

“Is this a porno, because if it is, can we be a part of it?” Hardison said as he re-entered the room.

“They got started,” Nate said as he leaned Hardison’s way, like he was telling Hardison a secret.

“I see that. Oh, Parker’s hair is really blonde still.  Gross. That shower’s gonna be nasty.  We have hot water in ten minutes, ladies.”

“Hardison, fill up the tub when that happens, will you?”

 

Nate could see Sophie’s bones, ribs, hipbones.  It kind of scared him at first, that she had lost so much weight, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t either.  Except he had gained a little bit of it back in the last few months. There were old bruises present, her hair looked to be a lost cause and her skin wasn’t the color it had been the last time he’d seen her naked.  It was so pale, like she hadn’t seen the sun in so long.  Of course, it had been cold a lot of the time they were apart. 

He couldn’t believe that the three of them were just standing there and watching. A few years ago, Hardison would have been stammering, Eliot would have turned around and Nate’s ears would have been bright red.  Well, maybe they were anyway.  They were alive.  He was so happy they were alive.

“So, should we just stop staring?” Hardison said as they still stood there.

“They never said that we had to leave,” Eliot pointed out.

“I don’t think they care.”

Both washed each other’s hair, as Parker took the braids out of Sophie’s hair and washed it three times before she was satisfied.  The blonde was coming back slowly as Parker rinsed and rinsed, having left the shampoo on there until she was done with Sophie.

“Oh, geez, they’re touching each other,” Hardison told them, even though they were watching the same thing happen.

“Just the hair, Hardison.”

“Don’t matter.”

“Now they’re touching each other,” Eliot said, voice gravely.

“I should probably get that tub filled up,” Hardison reminded the two.

Sophie was swearing as Parker helped her rinse one more time.  The water must be really cold since all he could look at were Sophie’s breasts reacting to it.

“Has it been ten minutes?”

Nate had lost all track of time, watching the two shower.

“Better than porn.”

“You must have watched a lot of porn.”

“What, you didn’t?”

“Jesuit priest?”

“Oh, yeah.  Prude.  Of course, now I know you’re not, but still.”

Nate kind of wanted to punch Eliot right then, but he knew he’d never be able to put much force behind it because of the leg.

“Do we have any bubbles?” Parker called out.

Both Nate and Eliot literally sighed out loud.  Hardison complied, using another bottle of what looked to be bubbles, shaking it into the running water as Sophie and Parker finished up. 

“What the hell is wrong with you three? Chop, chop.  That water is going to get cold.”

Nate looked at Eliot. Eliot looked at Nate. 

“Um, they want us to…”

“Ok, am I right in thinking…”

Only Hardison got the clue and stripped, jumping in the water before anyone else could say anything.  Parker joined him quickly, followed by Sophie.  Eliot turned his back to Nate and Nate did the same.

“You mean you still have not seen either naked?  Geez,” Parker admonished the two.

“No reason.”

“Just, no.”

“Oh, damn, the water is nice.”

“Fuck,” Nate sighed as the rest of his clothes came off.

“Be careful of the leg.”

“Don’t,” he growled back at Eliot.

“Just makin’ sure.”

Sure, they’d seen each other before. It had seemed so long ago, a lifetime ago. Nate slipped into the tub, surrounded by bubbles, Sophie on one side, Parker on the other.  They’d fit.  It would be a squeeze, but they’d fit.

“Geez, Eliot.  More scars?” was Sophie’s comment as she saw him enter the water.

“Nate still tends to get himself into too much trouble.”

“Right, Colonel. You keep telling yourself that.”

“They keep asking him to be like Vice President or something.”

“What?”

“Not happening. We are getting the hell out of here as soon as we can.  I’m not a politician.”

“Remember the last time we were on the Hill?”

“Disaster,” Eliot reminded everyone.

“Ow, my leg. Just, dammit.”

“Relax it more, Nate. Remember what I said.”

“Yeah, fuck off, Spencer.”

“You’re welcome, asshole.”

“My, my, the tension you could cut with a knife.”

“Well, I saved his life and got this as a souvenir.”

“Whatever.”

Parker’s head disappeared under the water.

“Parker, quit looking.”

“Hey, I was just rinsing my hair again.  Gosh, Eliot.  Not like I haven’t seen it before.  Now Nate I have not.”

“Oh, that’s right.  When you were a peeping tom, it was Hardison and Eliot.”

“No, it was Nate and Eliot. I’m sure of that.  They didn’t do anything.  Guys, get your minds out of the gutter.”

Nate’s head then went under, just so he could block out what they were saying. He realized it was his fault in the first place, his voyeurism that had brought them down this path. Now they had to sort it out, figure out how they were going to deal with the aftermath.

When he surfaced, they were all still smiling, talking about old times like there wasn’t a care in the world.

“Love the hair, Nate.”

“Necessary.”

Sophie ran her hands over it, saw the scar on the side of his head, but didn’t ask about what had happened. There would be time to compare battle scars.  She looked like her beautiful skin had been marred a bit too.  It still would never detract from her beauty.

“Come on, Nate. Up and at ‘em.”

“Huh?” he replied, looking perplexed.

“Let me help you out, silly.”

“Oh, fuck it.”

He’d just treat it like it was the showers in a gym and be done with it.  It wasn’t like Eliot hadn’t seen him with Sophie. Parker had probably seen him too. 

It took a few tries to get out and not slip and fall, but he made it. The other three stayed in the tub, smiling each other’s way.  Eliot went under a few times, washing the day’s grime away as he did.

“You don’t understand how good it feels to be clean.”

With a towel between the two of them, Sophie gently helped him dry off.  Her hands were everywhere all at once, drying him off, drying herself off. Some of her roundness had turned to sharpness, but she was still all Sophie. As he pulled her to him, he rocked back and forth, realizing that she was there, standing in front of him, a little marked up, a little different, but still exactly the way he remembered.

“Hope we have the room for the whole night.”

“We do.  We will.  It’s just the hot water, not so much.”

She backed him up to the bed, tripping over clothes that had been discarded, seeing some clean ones on the floor by the door. Nate was grateful that Hardison found those.   Sophie was right that the other clothes had stood up on their own once they shedded them.

Sophie didn’t take any time at all by pulling the blanket back and pushing him down, helping him settle, climbing on top of him and kissing him silly.

“They’re right in the next room.”

“Don’t care,” she whispered in his ear.

It didn’t take long for her to sink down on him, sighing in pleasure as she did.  He’d missed her, craved her in those ten months, realizing that at some point, he may never see her again.  He’d hoped, prayed that she’d come back to him.  He had dreamed of her often, had taken to having people look for her, send word if they’d seen a raven-haired beauty with dark, sparkling eyes and a penchant for using different accents. 

Nate heard squeals off in the distance, but didn’t take his eyes off of Sophie, wanting to feel and see everything about her.

“Oh, damn, that is hot.”

Nate couldn’t believe his eyes. Parker had walked in on them, not caring the least what they were doing.  Sophie turned her head to look at the thief, breaking the kiss that she was giving Nate.

“Get your own.”

“I have two.  Get in here, dammit.”

“Soph, Soph,” Nate started.

“There’s not fuckin’ way I’m…” Eliot stopped that train of thought, staring.

“Whoa,” was all Hardison could come up with.

At least Sophie had pulled the sheet sort of up them when she had started.  Most of the body parts were out there for all to see. With the snap of her hips, Sophie started again, ignoring the three that had just walked into the room.

It looked as if to Nate that all three of them were raring to go, if looks did matter.  Parker wasn’t having any of it and slapped each of their asses to get them to move back into the bathroom.

“Nate, don’t you dare stop,” Sophie cried out.

“Not planning on it,” he told her, watching the three leave out of the corner of his eye. 

As Sophie sat up on him, he knew that his eyes were only for her. It didn’t matter to him, because by that point he stopped caring anymore.  The others got down to business by the sounds that were coming from the other room.

“Not sure I even want to look,” Nate said as Sophie came in for a kiss.

“Oh my, is it hot,” she said as he hit a spot just perfectly.

There were groans in there that filled the whole room. As Nate finally looked over, saw a little of what they were doing to each other, he couldn’t last any longer with Sophie.  She moaned and tightened around him, moving until her muscles could move no more.  The other three were still going at it, having started later than they did.  It was all Sophie and Nate could do not to look through the crack in the door as the two other men made Parker squeal in delight.

“No way I’m gonna be able to do that,” he told Sophie as he watched Eliot from afar.

“I’m not sure I could do that,” she answered as she watched Parker.

“Hardison’s lucky.”

“This time.”

They both giggled, snuggling down into the bed now.

“More inventive than we are.”

“Soph, there’s three of them.”

“So?”

“Do you want three?”

“Possibly?”

“No way I’m doing that.”

“What?  Oh, Nate. You’re certainly not that flexible.”

And so it went, until the other three collapsed in a heap onto the bed after coming from the bathroom, curling up against each other.  Both Nate and Sophie drifted off to sleep, knowing that their crazy family, the one where they all loved each other, was back together again.

 


End file.
